THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior CPM leader and three-time MLA Anathalavattom Anandan passed away on Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 86. Anandan was suffering from age-related ailments for some time and breathed his last in medical college hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. The leader has etched his name in the political history of Kerala for being the gaffer who administered the rise of trade unions in the capital city.

Anandan was a popular face in prime-time debates on Television over the years. Anandan served as the director of the Kerala State Coir Marketing Federation (Coirfed) from 1979 to 2001, and in 1989 assumed the office of Chairman of Coirfed. He was also part of CPM’s state secretariat. During the emergency time, Anandan served jail term for showing dissent. Anandan started as the Chirayinkeezhu Taluk committee member of the Communist Party and later became MLA from Attingal in 1987, 1996 and 2006. He is the current CITU state president. Anandan is survived by his wife Laila and children Jeeva Anandan and Mahesh Anandan.